YA: Y'know I updated this on AO3 and it was not until SmileForMe15 reviewed and said 'please update' that I realized that I had not posted on FF. So kudos to you Smile.
Alamort (adj.)
Half-dead of exhaustion
Stress was a dangerous thing. Even as long as Kaname had lived, sometimes it was hard to judge when he truly reached his breaking point. Clearly though he had long since passed it without realizing.
Kaname had always prided himself on both his own self control and his ability to control a situation towards his personal benefit. He had done it in ancient times and he had maintained that ability in the present.
To have one of his own, to have Seiren, his faithful shadow put in such a vulnerable position was unacceptable. The incident might as well have been a slap to his face.
It had brought forth some unfavorable realizations.
His control of the situation had been slipping long before recent events had gone down. He had not noticed how his own exhaustion with his duties with the vampire council had been affecting his responsibilities at the academy.
Then a day class boy, one just like the heathens that had attacked Seiren, had managed to wander in a territory that was supposed to be safe. Realistically it had been no one's fault. He had heard Kiryuu questioning the human male with every other vampire and judging by their heartbeat and his genuinely contrite face they had been telling the truth.
That had not stopped Kaname from moving to take the student's head off his shoulders from daring to get close to one of his . Yet, Kiryuu had stepped between them, lavender eyes mixed with steel as he forced the pureblood to break out of his territorial instinctings. The hunter's surprising actions bringing his inferno down to a flare.
The hunter's ruff but chilly tone cut through the tense air, "Get yourself together Kuran. None of us have the time for you to act like an animal." The prefect snarled before he grabbed the day student by the collar and hauled him to his class.
Leaving the vampires in a strained silence. Seiren had the agency to gently tug at Kaname's sleeve. The action was enough to snap the pureblood king out of his shock.
Taking a calming breath, he announced in a steady voice, "Let us return to the dorms."
The night class scurried to obey.
Later when he was at his desk, Kiryuu's words seemed to echo in his mind. It was almost taunting in its persistence in his mind. The frustration that had slowly been piling up was reaching full circle.
Now it was time for self reflection and acknowledgement of facts. It was time to review where things had started to go wrong. As far as he could acknowledge things had changed after Yuuki's awakening. This had been within his expectation with the introduction of a new Pureblood being revealed within the royal family. Yet, the reaction had two unexpected outcomes.
Problem One: The vampires within the council took the news with unexpected outrage.
Problem Two: The vampires of Cross Academy had not attempted to make connections with Yuuki like he had expected.
These problems led to the following outcomes.
Problem One's Outcomes: The Council's outrage had led to a detrimental increase in paper work. This had increased his stress level and additionally taken him away from his duties at the school. This unconscious lapse had opened a gap in his information within his own personal ring of followers. In addition had led to an alarming lack of knowledge of how Seiren's attack had been planned. It had also led to his last lapse in control where he had almost attacked a day student.
Problem Two's Outcomes: Yuuki had no one to keep an eye on her. Therefore she most likely was not behaving within the traditional vampire views of a pureblood. Some of her actions and status had most likely alienated her new peers.
Admittedly the outcomes of the first problem took priority. He had been lacking as a leader and a king and this took priority. He drummed his fingers against his desk, his foot tapping out a rhythm on the floor.
Perhaps… What he needed right now was an outsider's opinion. An outsider who was willing to speak freely just as Akito and Hakaku had.
He could go to Cross… but the man clearly had his own agenda in mind and despite his centuries as a hunter, the man simply had no mind for vampire politics. Plus the man's flighty attitude grated on Kaname's nerves after an extended period. So that left Kiryuu.
There was a small chance that the hunter would go along with it but perhaps he would be more willing than Kaname initially assumed. His reaction to Seiren's attack had been one he expected from those within his own circle. Perhaps playing to the silver-haired prefect's sense of duty would yield better results.
The worst, the pureblood mused, that would happen was making the hunter more distrusting of Kaname than he already was. After a bit he eventually settled on the idea. Surely with all the patrolling Kiryuu did he would have a better understanding of what was going on than the one the brunette currently had.
"Takuma," He called, causing the blonde to look up.
"Yes?"
"I'd like to pay a visit to Kiryuu. I believe his point of view could be very helpful." Kaname murmured. Patiently waiting for his friend's reaction to the proposal.
Seeming to ponder for a moment Takuma slowly nodded, "Yes," He said, "I think that would be a wonderful idea."
Sometimes Kaname wondered if his judgement was entirely sound.
(Decision making while he was running on approximately no sleep did him no favors. Nor did his carefully cultivated reputation of being an omniscient leader. This often led to people assuming he had actual reasoning behind the things he said.)
Considering the scathing look that Kiryuu was giving him, the silver haired hunter was questioning it too.
How was he going to phrase this in a way that would not cause the hunter to shoot him?
Meanwhile Zero was waiting to receive a carefully worded demand about the hoard of vampires that had all scrambled into his bathroom.
Even with the seals in his room masking their presence and scent, did they forget Kuran would still be able to hear them?
Now the condescending bastard was simply smiling congenitally while eyeing Zero for an explanation. It was too fucking bad Zero had no intention of giving him one. If Kuran had managed to fuck up so badly that his little band of followers had resorted to hiding from the pure blood in a vampire hunter's bathroom then he did not deserve an explanation.
Takuma, the one who had the unfortunate pleasure to be the third wheel to this awkward encounter, was admiring a nearby wall. Unfortunately, for the blonde it was also rather blank and not nearly as hypnotic as the train wreck of watching Kaname Kuran stumble through asking Kiryuu for help.
Takuma honestly did not want to be the one to break the ice but for his beloved, awkward first friend he was willing to redirect the hunter's attention.
"Kiryuu, we came to ask if you would be willing to sit down so we are able to further discuss recent matters that have occurred within the school."
Lavender eyes switched targets and some of the hostility drained. His expression turned more complentative.
Kaname clutched the opportunity like a lifeline, "Indeed." Kiryuu turned again, shoulder's tensing.
But now Kaname was on a roll, "In light of recent events I have found myself drawn away from my duties at the Academy and find myself lacking enough information to make a sound opinion and would like an outsider's perspective."
Zero did not stop staring although they could see the cogs turning in his mind. Loosing almost all of his previous defensiveness.
Was… Was Kuran asking him for help?
That… was admittedly not something he had expected.
He tapped his foot as the two vampires waited for him to make his decision. So Kuran was not in fact aware of the small crowd of vampires that had taken to hoarding themselves in Zero's room. Both he and Takuma had only come to gain information.
He paused recalling the brunette's earlier words. Which had essentially boiled down to 'I was distracted and now I need to know what I missed' in flowery pureblood language.
He could take a guess about what Kuran had been distracted by. Even in the hunter community the emergence of a pureblood was big news. Much less the vampire one.
So for now he could test the waters.
"I want my own information."If the vampire community really was causing a big enough stir that Kuran's information network had such a large gap in it was worrying.
Kaname nods in acquiescence, frowning as he admits, "Yuuki's reawakening was not well received. Many find the idea of being stripped of their status a concerning trait."
Ichijo shifts his weight trying to hide his discomfort with the topic. Zero humms considering the fact that as far as he was aware the female brunette had never left school grounds. So the majority most likely did not know of her behavior.
But beside Yuuki the most interesting thing that he had noticed during the whole catastrophe was, "Are they worried hunters can replicate turning purebloods into humans?"
Kaname releases a sigh, "In addition to other purebloods discovering this method," He added. Trust Kiryuu to cut to the core of the issue.
To which Zero nodded his head in acknowledgement. The whole thing was a bureaucratic nightmare and he did not envy Kuran one bit.
This time Takuma cut in, a political smile firmly placed on his lips, "Before we continue, perhaps we could hear some of your own information?"
For a moment the hunter did not respond, his eyes landing on the pureblood leader and looking him over with more consideration than the brunette expected from the other. Kaname watched Zero as the hunter gazed thoughtfully towards the door. Wondering what the other was thinking and lamenting his inability to read minds.
With a decisive nod the silver haired Male stood. Ignoring Takuma and Kaname's questioning looks. Coming to his bathroom door and swinging it open.
Only to reveal the guilty faces of the members of his inner circle, all the pictures of wide eyed children being caught doing something they were not supposed to. Not quite knowing what to do with the information his eyes were presenting him with.
It was, of course Aido, had to break the silence and who stood towards the front, raised his hand in an aborted wave, "Er… Hi?"
Kaname blinked.
"Nothing haunts us like the things we do not say."
-Mitch Ablom
